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STARTING today, Shaghad, Ismail, and Aisha will attend the same academy for nobles Evan and I attend.
Just as the palace ordered me to, I was helping Evan take care of and keep an eye on the three of them. Ismail and Aisha were working hard at making connections, likely because their standing was so unstable in their own country. The high-ranking nobles, however, weren’t actively engaging with them since it wasn’t certain what would become of the twins’ standing in the future. They could even be a lethal poison for our country.
The low-ranking nobles, on the other hand, treated the twins as something special simply because they came from the Rienbul royal palace. They were approaching the pair, probably thinking they could be profitable to them somehow.
While all these people might fall under the umbrella of “nobility,” there was a significant discrepancy between what information a high-ranking and low-ranking noble could get, and the young lords and ladies from families who weren’t that involved with politics were unfamiliar with the game.
This discrepancy between the nobles was one of Astra’s problems that worried Evan.
I did, however, think it was a good enough decision on their part when they chose to put distance between themselves and Shaghad even though he was royalty. Even if they couldn’t get much information or were inexperienced with politics, they could see how the three from Rienbul were acting and sense something from the attitude of the higher-ranking Astra nobles.
Actually, quite a few low-ranking nobles were watching from a distance and waiting to approach.
The fools currying up to the twins right now didn’t have enough space in their heads to think about what was best for their country. In other words, it wouldn’t matter if I killed them if it came down to it.
I’ll add them to my list.
While the twins were actively making connections, Shaghad seemed nearly invisible, like he was trying to fade into the background. He might be the sole heir to the throne recognized as royalty, but his position also wasn’t stable.
It was obvious what Shaghad’s father would do to him if something happened to the current king. Shaghad needed those social connections to avoid the worst that would be coming for him, but I didn’t sense any intentions of building that from Shaghad.
Not that it has anything to do with me. I just need to do the duty I’ve been saddled with.
But still…
I looked again towards Ismail and Aisha. The first thing that struck my eyes was their flamboyant clothing. The Academy didn’t have any uniforms, so students were free to dress as they wished, but it was good manners to wear something easy to move in. I’d told them that in advance. Shaghad was actually in simple clothing that was already at the Academy.
But the twins, well, they had on clothes that wouldn’t be at all out of place at a ball.
“Have they never heard the saying ‘dress for the occasion?’” I muttered.
That was another reason why their high-ranking classmates were shunning them. I just hoped they didn’t do anything more extreme.
I didn’t normally care about conflicts among our classmates, but I wasn’t entirely uninvolved this time. I didn’t want to have more problems to deal with, but I also would not fail my mission.
If they did something, I would probably have to eliminate them.
“Selena,” said Aisha as she came over to me with several low-ranking nobles in tow. Did she already form an entourage?
“I may have been assigned to look after you while you’re here, Aisha,” I said, “but that doesn’t mean we’re so close that you can refer to me without a proper title. What are you thinking calling a high-ranking noble like me by just their name?”
“Oh, I don’t see anything wrong with it.” She smiled sweetly.
I did have to acknowledge she was the daughter of a woman who captured royalty. Her smile was powerful enough to make the boys nearby blush.
She could become an assassin specializing in honeytrap techniques.
“I heard you don’t have any friends because you have a horrible personality,” said Aisha. “But I’ll let you be my friend.”
Can I please kill her?
“No, thank you,” I said.
She looked shocked, like she never imagined I’d refuse. “Why not?”
“Because it doesn’t benefit me.”
“Oh, I see now. You’re an idiot.”
One special characteristic of idiots is that they don’t realize they’re idiots, which lets them look down on others.
“Excuse me? You rude little— Urk!” said Scarlanette, barging into the conversation from nearby, but I stepped on her foot to silence her. I didn’t do it that hard, but she glared at me with tears in her eyes. I just ignored it, though. It wasn’t something I needed to concern myself with.
Lady Scarlanette Jordan, daughter of Count Jordan. She’d become attached to me for some reason ever since I fought monsters in front of her at the Festival of Hunting.
Aisha must not have been satisfied with my response because she continued to argue. “I have the blood of Rienbul royalty in my veins.”
“That’s right, Lady Selena. Aren’t you being rude, considering she has royal blood?” said someone else.
“Maybe you should reconsider your arrogant attitude,” said another.
The members of the peanut gallery commenting must have been the boys she entranced at the evening ball. I’d stopped her from using alcohol as a tool for drawing in men, but she just did it some other way in the end. She was well-versed in those techniques, it seemed.
That didn’t, however, mean she could be suspected of being obsessed with boys. Just looking at her, it was easy to see that she loathed the boys who fell for her temptations. She didn’t trust them at all. All she did was read them and use them. Like a honeytrap assassin.
In the end, men who fell for that were usually the sort who acted like women were inferior, and their attitudes towards her would probably flip if the situation changed.
Well. Not that it matters.
What is with this ranting entourage of hers? Do they really think they’re protecting this foreigner from me?
That’s obviously not true. You’re all just tools to help her feel superior that she’ll use when she wants, then toss aside.
The relationship isn’t equal since she doesn’t even see you as human.
“What are you smiling about?!”
“What’s so funny?”
“How rude.”
There they go, howling because they’re trembling with fear, like a baby rabbit before a wolf.
I stood and whispered into the ear of the boy who seemed most central to the entourage. “Don’t howl so much. You’re only declaring yourself the prey.”
“What the?”
“It would be so easy to slip into the dark of night and prey on you.”
“I-Is that a threat?”
“A threat?” I chuckled, and the noble boy gave me a courageous glare.
That was the one thing from my former life that impressed me a little about noble children. They could be weak, they could be prey, but they still act like they’re the powerful ones. They brandish an authority ineffective on assassins and act like they are superior. That innocence, to the point of foolishness, keeps them from seeing the difference in power between them and their opponent, which is just exasperating.
“No, it’s not a threat. It’s a certain future where I will come for you.”
“Eek!”
He starts trembling now?
“Could you not bully my friends?” interrupted Aisha.
“Lady Aisha!” The boy looked at her with pleading eyes.
A glance made it seem like the entourage was protecting Aisha, but that wasn’t the case. It was just an act, a play to cast her as the kind lady who saves her friends while making me the evil villain bullying lower-ranked nobles.
Ugh. What a pain. If this conversation continues any longer, I’ll just fill up with rage.
“Miss Aisha Alaban,” I said. “You may be a student from another country, but that does not mean you’ve gone up in rank. I recommend you carefully review who you’re speaking to.”
“How scary. Are you threatening me?” she said as she clung to the arm of the closest noble boy, pressing her chest against him.
He blushed but still glared at me, perhaps trying to maintain his dignity. Not that it worked at all. The other noble boys looked enviously at the one Aisha clung to, but they stood in my way to protect her.
Even if I didn’t do anything, it seemed likely that there would be a fight to the death over her. And she wouldn’t even end up belonging to anyone if that did happen. She wasn’t an object to be owned, after all.
But she didn’t think of them as anything more than objects to be discarded once they were no longer useful. Just like how I was well-used once back in the slums, called by a number rather than a name.
Realizing that made this ridiculous encounter feel a bit nostalgic in a way.
Human emotions are so curious.
“I don’t know how things are back in Rienbul, but here in Astra, a duke ranks higher than a viscount,” I said. “You should have studied up on other countries if you were going to study abroad, Miss Aisha Alaban.”
“Lady Selena,” said Ismail, who had been watching the event unfold along with the gawkers. He stepped in front of Aisha as if to protect her.
It doesn’t matter who comes, though. I’ll just kill them. Not physically, though, unfortunately.
“I apologize for my sister’s rude behavior,” he said. “I’m sure she’s just flustered from being in an unfamiliar environment in a foreign land while being under the pressure of foreign diplomacy for the first time. It would be great news to bring back to our home country if we could say we built a positive relationship with someone as honorable as the daughter of House Violette. Could you find it in your heart to forgive her?”
His concerned smile caused several ladies to swoon. Incredibly powerful for just a smile.
“Lady Selena?” he repeated as he cocked his head and looked at me. He was surely trying to woo me.
“I forgive her,” I said. “It is the first day, after all.”
“Thank you.”
“……”
Ismail smiled, which was enough to draw overjoyed and aggravating shrieks from the surroundings. Among the pink-cheeked ladies were some noble boys, too. Apparently, Ismail’s seduction worked on the same sex as well.
“Tiegel,” I said.
“My apologies.”
All I did was say his name, but it was enough for him to understand I was ordering him to rein in his hostile aura. I could almost see drooping ears and a tail on him as his head sank.
I looked towards Evan, who was watching the scene from a distance.
…Why are you putting off such a hostile aura, too? I’m the one resisting the urge to kill them.
…I’m really not allowed to kill them, am I?